Welcome to Argo!
Location: Civitavecchia, Italy
Today, all of the students hauled our heavy backpacks across the rickety plank onto our Argo. Many of us haven't slept since before they flew into Italy, but everyone was very lively and excited to meet each other. I even got to meet Charles V of the British Empire. He has little interest in ruling now that the Empire has crumbled (which is absolutely not his fault, by the way). Overall, everyone got along pretty quickly, and we had some great conversations. Most notably, we watched three valiant crew members, Teo, Fish, and O, struggle and successfully construct a triple-decker hammock (Thatcher owes me 20 Russian Rubles for losing faith in them). Later, we heard tales of Oscar's signature dish, a seared salmon in olive oil with rice and honey-soy sauce. I am very excited for when he is the head chef. We then split into groups of four, and each of our staff members showed us around a different part of the ship, explaining the rules, the jobs, and how everything works. Then we had a delicious meal of pesto pasta, red sauce pasta, salad, and garlic bread prepared by Rachel. The garlic bread was the best part, but I was also very happy that the pesto had pine nuts. Afterwards, we had the squeeze where our question was, our name, where we're from, and what we are most excited for. Next, everyone was assigned their jobs, and we began clearing up the dinner with the sunset over us. Liv, Jem, and I could relax a bit because we had little to due as trash master, extra head gopher, and skipper. Later, we had a meeting to discuss the next day's jobs and night watches. I was lucky enough to score the 6 to 7 shift, but others were less fortunate. Tomorrow we will learn more extensively about safety and more information on how to run the ship. We will visit Rome the next day, and we will set sail for Sardinia on Thursday! We will not have our phones for the next few days, and as a result, most people are playing Rummikub on the table or preparing for bed as I write this! Overall, we had a great first day, meeting everyone and getting used to life on the ship!!!
- Sam
About the staff!
Nick: Captain, PSCT Instructor, Milk Chugging World Champion
Meg: Program Manager, Medic, Mate, Dive Instructor, Marine Scientist (literally a quintuple threat), Would Be a Racecar In Another Life
Shane: Chief Mate, Medic, Luscious Locks
Aidan: Dive Instructor, Leadership Professor, Regional Provisioner, Didn't Bring a Wetsuit
Charlie: Mate, Heads Guy, Animal Crossing Enthusiast
Ignacio/Nacho: Dive Instructor, Marine Scientist, In-House Translator, Resident PHD
Rachel/Big Rach: Dive Instructor, Assistant to the Provisioner, Not an Influencer